On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me – A bonus with a bottle of brandy Christmas Bonus With the cost of living, it may not be possible to |
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give your employees a Christmas bonus this year. If the Christmas bonus is contractual then you will need to pay it. If the Christmas bonus is discretionary then you have a choice to pay it, however there is something called custom and practice, which means that if you have always paid a bonus, it may become an implied term of the employee’s contract of employment. On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me 2 Loving employees Christmas affairs You have had a Christmas party and there has either been a one off incident or a relationship has formed between two employees. Having a policy on work place relationships is a way of managing any issues. If we are talking about harassment which may have occurred at a party, then ensure you have an anti-harassment and bullying policy in place. On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me 3 Christmas trends Dress Code If casual dress worn by staff on the days between Christmas and New Year has become a problem, make sure you flag up what dress code is required ahead of time so that staff know what you are expecting. On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 4 annual leave days Christmas Shut Downs Are you planning on shutting down for a short period over the festive season? hopefully you announced this earlier in the year (ideally Jan) and explained clearly to staff the number of holidays they needed to save for the Christmas closure. If you forgot to do this, or have decided last minute that you want to close, then you can legally enforce holiday. You will need to give employees notice that is double the length of the holiday they will be taking e.g. if they are taking 3 days, you need to give them at least 6 days notice. If, however employees have run out of holiday for the year you can’t force them to take unpaid leave or force them to bring forward holiday entitlement from the next holiday year. Have a think in Jan 2025, what you would like to put in place for Christmas 2025 and plan ahead. Have a clear annual leave policy and communicate this to all staff. On the subject of holidays:- Can an employee refuse to work boxing day or New Years Day? Do you have to pay staff more for working Christmas day/ boxing day/ new years eve / new years day? No, however you need to ensure that they have the legal statutory holiday entitlement throughout the holiday year. Can I say no to holiday requests around the Christmas period? As always the word is POLICY. A clear annual leave policy will ensure staff know where they stand in relation to how you want to run your business. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 5 longer days Overtime It’s your busiest season and you need employees to work overtime. Can you force them? That depends on your contract of employment. Don’t forget that The Working Time Regulations stipulate that employees cannot work in excess of 48 hours per week, on average, over a 17-week reference period. Have you asked your employees to opt out of this? even with this provision, the employee has the right to change their mind and give notice to that effect. |
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 6 secret Santa’s Secret Santa Whilst this can be lots of fun, an inappropriate gift may leave an employee embarrassed or offended, so it is important to set some parameters around this. |
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Make sure you are inclusive, but be clear that participation is voluntary. Set a budget for gifts (£5 is a good idea) so there is no pressure on employees to buy expensive gifts. On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 7 suppliers plying Christmas Gifts Whilst we all enjoy the odd box of chocolates, it’s worth reminding staff of what is an acceptable gift. Do you have a clear policy which has been communicated to staff? If you don’t have a Bribery Policy or a Gift Policy, this could be a good time to implement some. On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 8 online shoppers What do you do if staff are shopping online for their Christmas presents during work time? Nobody wants to be disciplined, so a friendly but firm reminder of the rules over the festive season, where temptation to browse for bargains is high, might help to discourage these sorts of distractions before they become a serious strain on productivity. Have a think about smart devices and mobile phones too. Ensure your policy covers all technology and when employees are permitted (if at all) to use them. On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 9 amazon orders Employees having parcels delivered to your premises for last minute Christmas presents? YES, YES, YES!! Time spent managing and opening parcels is time the employee is not working. This is fine for the odd parcel here and there, but too much will cause a big distraction. Also, since it’s illegal to open post that’s not address to you, it’s tough to stop any dangerous or illegal items from entering your company. Again, policy is the way forward, communicate your policy to staff. No policy = you can’t moan at employees when they do it! On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me 10 temps a temping Seasonal staff Ensure that seasonable staff are on the correct contract, a fixed term contract is the best with an end date to their employment. Remember temporary staff are entitled to the same pay and benefits as perm staff in a comparable role. If you have no idea how much work you will have, hire the seasonal workers on a zero hour contract. On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me 11 employees partying Christmas parties Did you know that 10% of employees have been disciplined or dismissed for an incident which occurred at the works Christmas party? I know it’s “no fun” but it’s really important to be clear with employees about what behaviour is expected from them at a work party. Be clear that whilst you want everyone to have fun, the normal standards of professional behaviour apply and anyone who does not maintain professional behaviour may be dealt with formally. Why important?Because as an employer, you have vicarious liability for your employees’ behaviour, even if the behaviour takes place during a Christmas Party. If one of your employees makes discriminatory or offensive comments, or even just gossips about another employee, there is the risk that you could receive a claim and be liable for their behaviour. Have you thought about social media, can photos of the event be posted online? Some employees will not want these photos on social media. Again, no fun I know, but is it a good idea to limit alcohol intake. I know some companies give out free drink vouchers – maybe limit this to two. Have you been inclusive when arranging a Christmas party? to minimise the risk of any religious discrimination claim, think about an activity or event which everyone can enjoy. Lots of staff call in sick or are late to work after a Christmas party, so maybe plan it for a Friday/weekend or think about adjusting working hours the following day to allow staff to come in later. |
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On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me 12 drunks a driving Are your employee’s enjoying the run up to Christmas too much? If you do believe an employee has come into work drunk, then you must suspend and conduct an investigation. Your policy should state that if an employees attends work under the influence, it may be regarded as gross misconduct. |